They didn't enter with fanfare. There was no announcement. No one shouted, "All rise."
But the moment Tsar walked into the war hall with Aylin at his side, the room did it anyway, by instinct.
The table was full. Advisors, captains, and longtime allies looked up with varying degrees of curiosity and calculation. A few straightened. One or two didn't bother hiding their confusion. Aylin? Here? At this table?
Sasha didn't give them the chance to turn that into a question.
He walked to his usual seat, the one at the head of the stone table, and pulled out the chair beside it. Then he nodded toward it without a word, eyes still on the room.
Aylin sat, calm and poised, though her heart beat hard in her chest. She didn't dress to impress. She didn't smile. But she didn't flinch, either.
When the silence lingered a second too long, Sasha leaned forward and spoke, tone casual, almost amused.
"Before anyone gets brave," he said, "let me make something clear."
The advisors blinked.
